Driven by the rebound in cobalt prices and the expansion of new energy demand, Huayou Cobalt has delivered its best performance since its listing.
Huayou Cobalt released its 2025 annual report. During the reporting period, the company achieved operating revenue of 81.019 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 32.94%; net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 6.110 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 47.07%, reaching a historical high since the company's establishment.
Total assets reached 159.438 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.73%; net assets attributable to parent company were 48.295 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 30.72%.
Behind the strong performance growth are the significant rebound in cobalt prices driven by export control policies in major supplying countries, coupled with the sustained high growth in the global new energy vehicle market—according to EVTank data, global new energy vehicle sales increased by 29.1% year-on-year in 2025, and global lithium-ion battery shipments increased by 47.6% year-on-year.
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<h2>Robust Revenue Structure, Continuously Improving Profit Quality</h2>
From a quarterly perspective, Huayou Cobalt's revenue and profit showed a trend of strengthening quarter by quarter: operating revenue in the fourth quarter reached 22.078 billion yuan, and net profit attributable to parent company was 1.894 billion yuan, both being the highest single-quarter levels for the year.
Net profit after deducting non-recurring items for the full year was 5.793 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 52.64%, higher than the growth rate of net profit attributable to parent company, indicating a high gold content of the performance.
Key financial indicators improved synchronously:
Asset-liability ratio decreased from 64.38% in 2024 to 61.85%; interest coverage ratio increased from 2.91 times to 4.28 times, an increase of 48.62%; EBITDA to total debt ratio rose from 0.21 to 0.25, both solvency and operating safety margins were enhanced. Weighted average return on equity was 13.70%, an increase of 2.01 percentage points over the previous year.
<h2>Strong Rebound in Cobalt Prices, Supply Pattern Reversal Boosts Performance</h2>
The rebound in cobalt prices is one of the core catalysts for Huayou Cobalt's performance leap in 2025.
According to data from the International Cobalt Association, global effective cobalt supply in 2025 was approximately 120,000 tons, a significant decrease from the previous year due to export control policies in major supplying countries; while global cobalt demand was about 214,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.4%.
The supply-demand pattern shifted from structural oversupply to tight supply, pushing cobalt prices into a supply-driven upward cycle.
According to USGS data, the Democratic Republic of Congo's cobalt ore output accounted for 75% of the global total in 2024. The high concentration of supply makes policy disruptions particularly significant in their impact on prices. Huayou Cobalt, as a company deeply involved in cobalt and copper resource development in Africa, directly benefited from this price recovery.
<h2>Differentiated Lithium Battery Materials, Long-Term Logic for Ternary Materials Strengthened</h2>
The market for lithium battery cathode materials in 2025 showed clear structural differentiation.
According to data from ICC QinLian Lithium, lithium iron phosphate production was 3.938 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 63.0%, dominating the energy storage and low-to-mid-end vehicle market with its cost advantage; ternary material production was 1.033 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 7.4%, with a relatively stable growth rate, but it continued to dominate the high-end performance market.
Huayou Cobalt's new energy and new materials businesses both focus on the ternary route. The company's ternary precursor products are widely used in the supply chains of high-end electric vehicles such as Tesla, Volkswagen, BMW, Hyundai, Stellantis, General Motors, and Ford. It has also signed a supply framework agreement with Tesla.
The company judges that with the accelerated industrialization of large cylindrical batteries and solid-state batteries, as well as the emergence of new scenarios such as embodied intelligence and low-altitude economy, the market's demand for high-energy-density cathode materials will continue to expand, opening up new growth space for ternary materials.
<h2>Nickel Prices Oscillating at Low Levels, Policy Variables Dominating Supply-Demand Expectations</h2>
In terms of the nickel business, according to INSG data, global nickel supply in 2025 was 3.81 million tons, and demand was 3.60 million tons. The oversupply pattern continued, and nickel prices mainly oscillated in the bottom range throughout the year, with a significant rebound at the end of the year due to the expectation of tightening Indonesian RKAB quotas.
Huayou Cobalt's Indonesian nickel and cobalt resource development is the strategic core of its upstream resource layout, with main products including mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) and mixed sulfide precipitate (MSP), which are nickel intermediate products.
Policy trends such as Indonesian RKAB quotas have become key variables in the global nickel supply-demand balance, directly impacting the cost and production planning of the company's resource business. Looking ahead, the company believes that emerging application demands for high-nickel ternary batteries and nickel-based alloys will bring new development opportunities to the nickel industry.
<h2>Lithium Carbonate V-Shaped Reversal, &#34;Dual-Wheel Drive&#34; Solidifies Lithium Demand Bottom</h2>
Regarding lithium carbonate, according to Mysteel data, global lithium carbonate supply in 2025 was about 1.78 million tons, and demand was about 1.678 million tons, with an excess of about 103,000 tons. The pressure of oversupply was mainly concentrated in the first half of the year.
In the second half of the year, with the rapid release of energy storage demand, the market supply-demand pattern significantly improved, and prices showed a V-shaped trajectory throughout the year, with a decline followed by a rise.
Huayou Cobalt's lithium business covers the mining, beneficiation, and primary processing of its own mines. Its main products include spodumene concentrate, petalite concentrate, and lithium sulfate, and it serves as a raw material supplier for domestic lithium salt producers in the upstream industry chain.
The company judges that the demand pattern driven by power batteries and energy storage operating as &#34;dual wheels&#34; will provide long-term and solid support for lithium carbonate.

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Huayou Cobalt achieved revenue of 81.019 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 32.94%; net profit attributable to parent company was 6.110 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 47.07%, reaching a historical high since the company's establishment. The performance drivers are the significant rebound in cobalt prices driven by export control policies in major supplying countries, coupled with the growth in demand for lithium battery cathode materials

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Huayou Cobalt

Huayou Cobalt's 2025 Revenue Increased by 33% Year-on-Year, Cobalt Price Rebound Boosted Net Profit by 47%, Reaching an All-Time High | Earnings Insights